Amazon has confirmed plans to cut approximately 14,000 jobs from its global corporate workforce as part of a major restructuring aimed at making the company “leaner” and better positioned to take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities.
In a note to employees, Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President at Amazon, said the move would help the tech giant “invest in our biggest bets” and focus on what matters most to customers. She emphasized that while Amazon’s business remains strong, the transformation was necessary as AI continues to reshape industries at a rapid pace.
At the end of July, the company reported second-quarter sales of $167.7 billion, up 13% year-on-year, beating Wall Street expectations. However, Galetti noted that AI is “the most transformative technology since the Internet” and that Amazon must adapt by reducing layers of management to act faster and more efficiently.
Affected employees will be offered transition support, including severance pay and assistance in finding new roles within the company. The layoffs primarily target Amazon’s corporate workforce, which accounts for about 350,000 of its 1.5 million employees globally.
This latest round follows earlier cuts that saw 27,000 positions eliminated in 2022, as Amazon sought to reverse pandemic-era overhiring and shift resources toward high-growth areas like AI and automation.
Chief Executive Andy Jassy has warned that AI advancements will change the company’s workforce structure, saying, “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.”
Analysts note that slower growth in Amazon Web Services (AWS), compared to Microsoft and Google, and cautious profit forecasts have added pressure on the company to prove the long-term value of its AI investments.
Amazon is set to report its next quarterly earnings on Thursday, for the period ending September 30, with investors watching closely for signs of how the company’s AI strategy is impacting performance.
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